


Time Changes Everything

by kcstories



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Post-War, community: 12daysof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-20
Updated: 2008-03-20
Packaged: 2018-07-26 18:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7584535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcstories/pseuds/kcstories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Albus Potter ponders on the news he just received from his dad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Changes Everything

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairing:** Harry/Draco (Ginny/Blaise, past Harry/Ginny, past Draco/OFC).  
>  **Warnings:** AU-ish. Fluff. Mild DH spoilers.  
>  **Disclaimer:** The Potterverse is JKR's, not mine.

I reread Dad’s letter for the fourth time and reach out towards the bowl of nuts that’s standing in the middle of the desk.  
  
Nervous eating is a bad habit I picked up from my uncle Percy, and maybe it’s one I should kick. Mum would surely tell me off if she were here.  
  
She isn’t, of course. She doesn’t even live in Britain any longer. I only see her during the summer hols generally.  
  
Three years ago, she and Mister Zabini moved to Italy. He insists I call him Blaise, but I scarcely know the bloke, even if he has become my stepfather since.  
  
It was a shocking experience when my parents split up four years ago, but knowing what I do now, I suppose I could have seen it coming.  
  
Dad had always been awfully preoccupied with his job—he’s an Auror, you know; one of the best—and Mum, well, she was lonely and frustrated, I suppose, especially after Lily had left for Hogwarts, too.  
  
I don’t mind admitting I miss her and I miss my two parents living in the same house, but I also realise she’s happy now. Dad is too, and judging from the message in front of me, he's about to become even more so.  
  
I’ve suspected for a while that something was up. I’m not as thick as my little sister would have others believe, you know.  
  
Dad walked around with this goofy grin for most of the Easter Hols, and whenever that large eagle owl dropped off a letter with a fancy wax seal, his face would light up and he’d hum these cheesy tunes all afternoon.  
  
Pretty embarrassing to see, really, but fortunately it was just the two of us—Lily was at Aunt Hermione’s and James was in Blackpool with his girlfriend, so I could pretend nothing out of the ordinary was going on.  
  
I soon figured out those letters were from Draco Malfoy. He and Dad had never got on at school—I’ve heard the stories about their fierce rivalry; I suppose everyone has—but I guess things changed when they ended up working as a team on some case earlier this year.  
  
When I was home, they met up for lunch twice and went out to dinner one evening, too. Dad got back really late that night and whistled the next morning at breakfast. I’d never known him to whistle before. Neither had James; I Owled him to check.  
  
I shake my head and glance at the letter again. So now it has been confirmed: Dad and Mister Malfoy are officially an item.  
  
I guess I’m supposed to be shocked or a bit angry, but I’m neither. I’m not even bothered it’s a bloke Dad’s seeing. He’s happy, and that’s what matters in the end, right?  
  
I hear a hesitant knock at my door, and look up. “Yeah?” I call out, my mouth full.  
  
A tall, slim boy walks in; Scorpius Malfoy. His shoulders are straight and his expression is unreadable. We know each other vaguely—we have Potions together—but we’ve pretty much avoided one another since our first day at Hogwarts.  
  
I felt a little iffy about talking to him—because of my dad’s history with his dad—and I guess he must have felt the same way because he never made any effort to approach me either.  
  
Not that avoiding each other has been terribly hard. I’m in Slytherin and he’s in Ravenclaw. Come to think of it, it’s probably a good thing that he is. A Gryffindor wouldn’t have made it past my Housemates just now.  
  
Yeah, you’d expect the rivalry between those two Houses would have been settled after the war, right?  
  
You’d be wrong. It’s as bad as it has ever been—Time doesn’t really change Hogwarts. Come to mention it, I’ve yet to see anything that _does_ —and I suppose I ought to be grateful Scorpius is the quiet bookworm type. Had he been the sort to look for trouble, I don’t doubt he would have easily found it.  
  
“Hello,” I finally say and give him a questioning look, even though I think I already know what he wants.  
  
“Good evening, Potter,” he replies in that posh accent of his. He’s so prim and proper; I sometimes wonder whether we even belong to the same species. He gestures towards my letter. “I gather your father has informed you of the latest... _developments_ , then?”  
  
“Yeah,” I say. “He di— He has.”  
  
“I see.” He seems to hesitate before he speaks. “I also gather you and I will be spending some time together this summer, if your father plans to join mine at the Manor.”  
  
I hadn’t considered that possibility, or even thought that far ahead really, but it makes sense. Even at seventeen, dad wouldn’t leave me all by myself, and since it gets so crowded at Gran’s, I’d rather not go there. I nod.  
  
“Right. So I thought the polite thing might be that I came over and said hello.”  
  
“Right.” I rise from my chair. “Sure. ”  
  
He gives me a guarded smile and holds out his hand. Uncle Ron would have a fit if he saw, I’m sure of it, but as for me, I’m relieved in a sense. The ‘not speaking’ thing bothered me a bit. I like getting along with people, and I’m not the type to hold a grudge for no good reason, especially when it isn’t even my own grudge to begin with.  
  
I shake Malfoy’s hand and offer him a glass of pumpkin juice and some biscuits. I’m a little stunned to discover I’ve already eaten all the nuts.  
  
He smiles. “That would be lovely.”  
  
We sit down on the sofas and end up talking about Quidditch—always a safe subject, if nothing else—and then we move on to school, the upcoming OWLs and finally, our respective dads.  
  
He’s surprisingly easy to have a conversation with. I don’t even notice many hours have passed until Bernard Goyle barges in and informs me that it’s time for dinner.  
  
As I join my fellow Slytherins at our usual table, I decide it’s going to be a bit weird—Dad dating again, and some man too—but if he’s happy and I’ve gained a friend in the process as well, I can’t exactly complain, can I?


End file.
